While Number of Drug Overdoses in Kentucky Levels Off, Heroin Deaths Increase

The percentage of overdoses related to heroin jumped in Kentucky from 2012 to 2013.

The number of overdose deaths related to heroin continues to climb in Kentucky.

A new report from the state’s Office of Drug Control Policy shows that while the number of total overdoses remained steady in 2013, deaths caused by heroin increased by more than 12 percent.

In 2012, 19.6 percent of drug related deaths recorded by the state were due to heroin. That number increased to 31.9 percent in 2013.

Overall, the number of drug deaths in Kentucky leveled off last year, increasing by only three from 2012.

Van Ingram, the Executive Director of Kentucky’s Office of Drug Control Policy, said one way to combat the rising number of heroin deaths would be to increase the availability of narcan, a drug used to halt the effects of opioid overdose. Narcan is currently found in emergency rooms and carried by paramedics.

“We’d like to see it in the hands of police officers, we’d like to see it in the hands of families of people who are at risk, and just as widespread as we can make it, because we can’t get people into treatment and we can’t help them turn their lives around once they’re lost,” Ingram told WKU Public Radio.

The number of deaths due to heroin overdose may actually be higher than the new report indicates. Morphine was detected in the bodies of 43 percent of those who received autopsies following an overdose.

Some, if not many, of the cases officially listed as morphine deaths could involve heroin. Morphine is detected in the blood after a person injects heroin, and the substances that indicate heroin use are sometimes eliminated by the time of the autopsy.

Ingram said that while he’s disappointed the number of overdose deaths hasn’t decreased, he maintained that there are still bits of good news that can be found in the report.

“We watched these (overdose death) numbers grow by the hundreds for five years. So that they’re leveling off steady for the last two years is a good sign—it’s not what I want, but it’s a good sign. And the number of deaths due to prescription opioids is down.”

Some other statistics from the report:

Overdose deaths in many Eastern Kentucky counties, when compared by 100,000 population, 2013 data, showed high rates. The top 6 counties by overdose deaths per 100,000 people for 2013 include:

Bell County 93.2 per 100,000

Clinton County 49.3 per 100,000

Breathitt County 44.3 per 100,000

Floyd County 43.9 per 100,000

Perry County 42.8 per 100,000

Harlan 42.1 per 100,000

The top five counties for heroin detected in overdose deaths, according to data from Kentucky Medical Examiner and coroner reports, include:

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A renewed effort to pass legislation to combat Kentucky’s heroin epidemic is gaining traction in the state legislature.

The chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary committees are in talks to revive the bill, championed by outgoing Republican Sen. Katie Stine, whose Northern Kentucky district has been hit especially hard by heroin abuse.

Stine’s bill died in the final moments of the 2014 session over constitutional concerns about its homicide provision, which would have charged dealers for murder in the event of an overdose, and GOP dissension over the bill’s needle exchange program.

“We are discussing ways to curb the addiction, get it off our streets; to deal more harshly with those whom are dealing in the misery; and to save lives, ultimately,” said Rep. John Tilley, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “And that’s what we as public servants need to be doing.”

Tilley says all options -- including the homicide provision -- are still on the table, and that several bills will likely take shape soon.

The number of drug-addicted babies in Kentucky who are hospitalized has increased significantly in a little more than a decade.

The Courier-Journal cited a recent report from the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center showing that the number has gone from 28 in 2000 to 824 in 2012.

Although a multi-pronged effort was launched last year to fight the rising number of addicted newborns, medical professionals say it's not enough. Treatment centers are struggling to stay open, there are waiting lists to get in, and too many babies are born struggling.

Preliminary figures in the state report suggested that number of newborns treated for addiction rose even further in 2013 to more than 900.